Gear for single-track vehicles



July g, 1958 H. HILBER 2,841,990

GEAR FOR SINGLE-TRACK VEHICLES Original Filed June 24, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 8, 1958 H. HILBER 2,841,990

GEAR FOR SINGLE-TRACK. VEHICLES Original Filed June 24, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENI'O/P United States Patent GEAR FOR SINGLE-TRACK VEHICLES Hanns Hilber, Stuttgart, Germany, assignor to Alfred Kreidler, Stuttgart, Germany Original application June 24, 1954, Serial No. 438,938, now Patent No. 2,804,865, dated September 3, 1957. Divided and this application September 11, 1956, Serial No. 609,172

Claims priority, application Germany June 26, 1953 2 Claims. (Cl. 74-6) The invention relates to a gear for single-track vehicles which may be optionally constructed as, or converted into, an engine-assisted pedal cycle having a pedal crank,

or a light motorcycle having footrests.

'This is a division of the copending patent application Serial No. 438,938, filed June 24, 1954, now Patent #2,804,865.

It is one object of the present invention toprovide a gear which is to be fitted with bearings for receiving, as required, a pedal crank drive or a spindle carrying the footrests and/or forming the kickstarter shaft.

It is another object of the present invention to provide, as a further devolpment of the idea underlying the present invention, an arrangement of the space relationship of the gear housing in such manner that a pedal crank shaft may be accommodated therein having a gear connection to the driven shaft, or a kickstarter device, as re quired.

It is preferable so to arrange the gear that parts of the kickstarter device, such as the stop member for the resting position of the kickstarter, may be secured in bearings of the pedal crank drive, such as in the bearing of a counter shaft.

Finally, in order to secure the gear housing, which mainly consists of light metal die casting, from breakage when the foot rest mounted therein receives an impact or is bent by a spill, the latter is preferably constructed resiliently. Preferably also the outer end of the footrest is connected to the part of the rest snugly fitting on the footrest spindle only by a sleeve consisting of elastic material, preferably hard rubber.

With these and other objects in view which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the present invention will be clearly understood in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a horizontal section through a gear having a pedal crank;

Fig. 2 is a similar section through the same gear having a footrest and a kickstarter device in a position as during the starting operation;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view in the direction of the arrow III with the cover of the gear housing removed; and

Fig. 4 is a part section on the line IV-IV of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, bearings 3, 4 are disposed in a gear housing 1 and in a gear housing cover 2. As shown in Fig. l the pedal crankshaft 5 is mounted in these bearings. The pedal crankshaft supports a gear wheel 6 which is coupled therewith through a locking roller freewheel 7 in the direction of propulsion. In a further bearing 8 of the gear housing 1 is secured a transmission shaft 9 on which a pair of gear wheels 10, 11 is rotatably mounted. A driven shaft 12 is also mounted in the housing 1 and in the cover 2 of the housing. A pinion 13 which is in engagement with the gear wheel 11, is rigidly connected with the driven shaft 12. The gear wheel 10, on the other hand, meshes with the gear wheel 6 disposed on the pedal crankshaft 5. Finally, the driven 2,841,990 Patented July 8, 1958 2 shaft 12 carries the two gear wheels 14 and 15 of the speed change mechanism, the further construction and actuation of which is of no interest for disclosure of the present invention, and, on the outside the driving chain wheel 16.

As may be seen with a vehicle fitted with such a gear it is possible to move forward, using the pedals as an auxiliary means and starting the enginev in this manner.

If the above described engine-assisted pedal cycle gear is to be converted into such for light motorcycles, the pedal crankshaft 5 is removed and a footrest spindle 17 is inserted instead into the same bearings 3, 4 (Fig. 2). This footrest spindle 17 is also rotatably mounted and simultaneously forms the kickstarter shaft. For this purpose it has a sleeve 18 which is, in its turn, firmly connected with a tooth segment 19. A helically wound torsion spring 20, which engages on the left side by one end in a recess 1' of the housing 1 and on the right side by its other end in a bore 19' on the segment 19. A locking member 22 is held by means of a bolt 21 in the bear ing 8, from which 'the transmissionshaft 9 of the gear wheels 10, 11 has been removed and replaced by the bolt 21. This locking member 22 surrounds the kickstarter shaft 17 and has a lug 22' which forms a stop for a projection 18' of the sleeve 18. Thus, the resting position of the starter device 17, 19 is secured against the action ofthe torsion spring 20.

Upon starting, the segment 19 comes into engagement with a gear ring 23 which may be rotated on the hub 15' of the gear wheel 15. On its inner periphery the gear ring 23 has notches 23 in which a spring-loaded pawl 24 may engage which is fitted in the recess of the hub 15 of the gear wheel 15. On the left hand the kickstarter pedal 25 is connected with the kickstarter shaft 17 and on the right hand a brake pedal 26 is mounted thereon. Finally, the kickstarter shaft 17 also carries the footrests each of which consist of a sleeve 27 with a flange 28, a mushroom-shaped outer end portion 29 and a hard rubber sleeve 30 connected with both parts by vulcanization.

For starting the pedal 25 is trodden down. At the same time the whole kickstarter (footrest) shaft 17 twists against the action of the spring 20. The segment 19 is in engagement with the gear ring 23. The latter turns and takes with it the gear Wheel 15 through the ratchet 23, 24, the gear wheel 15 being in gear connection, in its turn, with the engine again and thus starts the engine. After starting, the torsion spring 20 returns the kickstarter device to its resting position which is determined by the stop of the members 18', 22. At the same time the segment 19 is disengaged from the gear ring 23. It is obvious that the gear wheel 15 must be disconnected by some normal means from the driven shaft 12.

In any case, with the arrangement of the gear mechanism which has been described, the vehicle equipped therewith may be constructed as an engine-assisted pedal cycle, as required, or a light motorcycle without modifying the gear housing, by the fitting of the pedal crankshaft 5 with its gear connection 6, 7, 9-11 or of the footrest shaft 17 with the kickstarter device 18--24. By resiliently constructing the footrests 27-30 the risk is countered in the second case of the gear housing 1, 2 being affected in the event of the footrests receiving an impact.

In order to convert the light motorcycle into an engineassisted pedal cycle, the reverse procedure takes place by removing at first the footrest spindle 17 and inserting instead the pedal crankshaft 5 and also removing the sleeve 18 with the tooth segment 19, as well as the torsion spring 20. The bolt 21 with the locking member 22 is likewise removed and replaced by the transmission shaft 9 with the gear wheels 10 and 11 which engage the pinion 13 and the gear wheel 6, respectively, coupled with the pedal crankshaft 5 through the locking roller freewheel 7.

While I have disclosed one embodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is given by example only and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the present invention being determined by the objects and the claims.

I claim:

1. In a transmission gear for single track vehicles, a housing, a side cover for said housing, a driven shaft rotatably mounted in said housing and said side cover, a footrest spindle rotatably mounted in said housing and said side cover, a kickstarter mechanism mounted on said footrest spindle, a plurality of speed change mechanism gears carried by said driven shaft, one of said last mentioned gears carrying a hub having at its periphery a plurality of ratchet means, a gear ring rotatably received on said hub, said kickstarter mechanism including a tooth sector engaging said gear ring, said footrest spindle being adapted to be replaced by a pedal crankshaft rotatable in said housing and said side cover.

2. In a transmission gear for'single track vehicles, a housing, a side cover for said housing, a driven shaft rotatably mounted in said housing and said side cover, a footrest spindle rotatably mounted in said housing and said side cover, a first gear wheel carried by said driven shaft within said housing, a kickstarter mechanism mounted on said footrest spindle, a plurality of speed change gear mechanism gears carried by said driven shaft, one of said last mentioned gears carrying a hub having at its periphery a plurality of ratchet means, and said houshaving a recess adjacent said footrest spindle, a gear ring rotatably received on said hub, said kickstarter mechanism including a tooth sector engaging said gear ring, a bolt mounted in said housing and disposed between said driven shaft and said footrest spindle, a locking member held by said bolt, the free end of said locking member surrounding said footrest spindle, the latter carrying said tooth sector and a helical torsion spring, one end of the latter being recevied by said recess in said housing and the other end by said tooth segment, said footrest spindle being adapted to be replaced by a pedal crankshaft rotatably mounted in said housing and said side cover, said bolt being adapted to be replaced by a transmission shaft rotatably mounted in said housing, said locking member being adapted to be replaced by gear means carried by said transmission and a second gear wheel carried by a freewheel of said pedal crankshaft, whereby said gear means interconnects operatively said first and second gear wheels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Lake et al. Jan. 19, 1915 

